Questions Hang Over GA Response to Water Dispute

      ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia's state and federal elected officials have yet to agree on how to work out a tri-state water deal, now that a federal judge has ruled that nearly all Georgia's withdrawals from Lake Lanier are illegal.
      Gov. Sonny Perdue has said he will "fight to the death" to preserve Georgia's water rights. Perdue said Thursday that the state will pursue a "multi-pronged attack," but he suggested that the solution lies with Congress because federal water rights are a national issue.
      Federal lawmakers have made it clear they prefer to let the governors of Alabama, Florida and Georgia hash out the details rather than settle the issue in Congress.
      U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson last week gave the states three years to broker a deal or risk sharp cuts to Atlanta's water supply.
      
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